TNM launches K3mil Best ICT Journalist Award with MISA-Malawi

Malawi’s integrated mobile network and ICT service provider TNM will effective this year become the official sponsor of the Best ICT Journalist of the Year Awards category to the tune of K2 Million annually under the Media Institute of Southern Africa – Malawi Chapter (MISA-Malawi) annual media awards. TNM has further contributed K1million towards the Annual Gala Dinner.

Always with you- Hiwa (L) presentng a cheque to Mambulasa.

The category is part of Misa-Malawi’s awards which are presented annually on the occasion of commemorating World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on May 3. In Malawi, the event will take place on May 6 in Lilongwe.

Speaking during the cheque presentation ceremony held at TNM Head Offices in Blantyre on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 – which is the actual World Press Day, TNM’s Senior Manager – Public Relations, Akossa Hiwa, said the support is an acknowledgement of the important role journalists and media houses play in the economic and social development of the country.

“At TNM, we recognise the critical role of journalism as foundation stone of the communications industry and its heart beat. But we also appreciate the diversity that journalists bring in society. And it is for this reason that we decided to recognise outstanding work in the specialised area of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) reporting, which has emerged as a key enabler of the information economy, and in which TNM is a key player in Malawi,” she said.

Hiwa said TNM as a home-grown Malawian company is proud to partner MISA-Malawi as the mother body of the media in Malawi on WPFD, saying TNM has always enjoyed mutual relations with the chapter.

“We look forward to working with MISA-Malawi as a partner. As a start, we have chosen to partner MISA-Malawi in recognizing outstanding journalists who demystify the ICT sector for informed decision making by consumers of ICT products and services, and those that need technology to run,” she said.

In his remarks MISA- Malawi Legal Counsel Mandala Mambulasa thanked TNM for its contribution towards the 2017 commemoration and introduction of ICT award.

“MISA-Malawi is excited to enter into a partnership with TNM through the support towards the 2017 World Press Freedom Day. We look forward to a long lasting relationship with this renowned local brand. ,” said Mambulasa.

Mambulasa said through its support to various social initiatives, TNM has indeed demonstrated that it is “Always With” Malawians as rightly pronounced in its tagline.

“The support to MISA Malawi will go a long way in supporting Malawi’s economic development through improved reporting enhanced by the ICT award supported by TNM,” he said.

This year’s commemoration will be held under the theme “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.”

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.

It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom – a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.